Do You Remember?
by Person4
Summary: Princess Maker 2 Olive wants to get out of town for the day, and Cube insists on coming with her.  Away from town, she reminds him of everything he's done for her over the years.


Neither Princess Maker 2 nor any of the characters or settings therein belong to me. I'm just playing with them for a bit.

• • •

"Mistress, _what are you doing?_" Cube cried out, wringing his hands fretfully.

Olive grinned at him, apparently blind to his distress, and continued strapping her armor on. "Have you looked outside today, Cube? It's _beautiful_. I want to go down to the meadow near the lake and enjoy it." 

"But, Mistress, you just got back from the desert a few days ago! Your father told you to rest for a few weeks."

"Papa won't mind what he doesn't know! And... _you_ won't tell him, will you Cube?" Suddenly she was making puppy dog eyes at him, and he knew that they shouldn't work as well on him now as they did when she was a little eleven year old, but, then, when had he ever been able to deny her anything?

"Of course not, Mistress." Then, as he reached for her sword, he suddenly had an idea. "But, Mistress, in return you must let me come with you. That way, if your father finds out, I can tell him that I was watching over you the whole time."

"Ah, Cube, you _say_ you're going to watch over me, but I can tell the truth!" Olive said, her smile teasing.

Cube blinked. "Truth, Mistress?"

She leaned against his side, whispering conspiratorially, "You want to get out of here just as much as I do, don't you?" Then she pulled away from him with a laugh, although his body still felt warm where hers had rested. "If you're coming too, I'll make us a picnic."

"Mistress, you don't need to do that. I can--"

"I've won the cooking competition twice, Cube. I can do it!"

"If that's what you wish, Mistress."

• • •

"This was a good idea, wasn't it Cube?" she asked after they'd eaten their lunches, curling on her side in the soft, deep, grass. "It's nice to be away from town."

"Ah, this _was_ nice Mistress, but I thought you liked the village. What's wrong with being it?"

She rolled onto her back and stared up at the clouds. "I _do_ like it, but it's so tiring lately. If somebody isn't challenging me to a fight, they're proposing to me. I wished they'd all just let me be!"

"I see." He looked down at his hands, frowning, and then said quietly, "And, there's been no one out of them that you have any desire to marry, Mistress?"

"None of them."

"Then, if you wish, I could begin turning your suitors away at the door. ...Unless there's someone who may come someday whose proposal you're waiting for."

She suddenly blushed. "No, there's no one who would come to our door who I'd want to marry."

"Ah." 

They sat in comfortable silence for a long while after that, the warm sunshine lulling Cube into a doze, when he was startled back awake by her suddenly saying, "Cube, do you remember the times that I got sick when I was younger?"

"How could I forget? I was so afraid for my poor little Mistress. I'd tried telling your father not to pile so much work on you at once, but, oh, he has always been so certain that you were strong enough to do anything."

"I'm glad Papa raised me that way, even though it was hard sometimes. But, when it _was_ too much, I can still remember you taking care of me, since Papa was too busy to. And I remember how, whenever it got too bad, you'd hold my hand as long as I wanted you to."

It was his turn to flush faintly. He had always thought she'd been too feverish to remember those times. "I'm just glad I was able to be a comfort to you, Mistress."

"You were." She sat up, and moved closer to him. "I also remember how, when I was just getting started at fighting, you'd always be the one who came and saved me when I ran into something I couldn't handle. I never got too hurt, because of Cube."

He rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I couldn't let anything bad happen to my Mistress."

"You didn't. And, Cube, you were always the one who went with me to the festivals, and you were always the one who watched over me when I was being... rebellious, and I know that you're the one who always reminds Papa to get me presents for my birthday. You've always done all these things for me."

"Mistress, you know I would do anything for you."

"You would, wouldn't you?" She smiled brightly at him, and pushed herself to her feet, running a few feet further into the meadow, toward the lake, then suddenly whirled back around to face him. "So, Cube, why would you think there'd be anyone outside of our house who I'd want to marry?"

All he could do was stare after her, shocked, as she ran across the deep green grass toward the sparkling waters in the distance.


End file.
